Animal History: The Fish
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: Even the Animal races that were indigenous to Third Earth rather than colonists had their history and culture. A short history of the Fishmen that inhabited the waters of Third Earth. All except Koinelius Tunar are OC's, again.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own _ThunderCats 2011_.

**A/N:** I have some knowledge about fish, but it isn't encyclopedic, so there won't be as much detail about species' differences as in, say, the Bird History story that I wrote. And another thing; when I name a fish with a lower-case letter, it refers to an ordinary fish, while fish names with a capital latter are individual Fishmen or Fishmen sub-races.

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_**Animal History: The Fish**_

Not all of the sentient Animal species on Third Earth came from other planets, or from Mumm-Ra's Pyramid. One such race that was indigenous to Third Earth was the Fishmen, a race of bipedal, rational fish-like humanoids that always lived by, or in, the water. They were adept swimmers, evidently, and their homes and communities were always built by a body of water. They were a rather pragmatic people, believing in looking for peace rather than war in a problem situation. The Fishmen's economy thrived mainly on fishing, because, quite obviously, being part fish themselves, they caught ordinary fish, with both their nimble bodies and with fishing poles, and used their meat as food, their scales as currency, and their fins and tails as trophies to display their status as members of the community. They thought that those who did a better job fishing for their living were more fit to thrive and survive, and their trophies were symbols of how good they were at it. Fishmen were natural-bred fishermen by trade, and without fish to bolster their economy and provide their food, not to mention without water to drink, the Fishmen would die rather quickly, because, being like fish, they had to be hydrated constantly, and their skin had to be moist as often as possible.

Fishmen were not nearly as cultured as their avian counterparts, the Birds, nor as spiritual as the Elephants, or as strong as the Dogs and Monkeys, but they made up for it with the ability to survive as a race merely on water, and on agility. They were better swimmers than any of the races of Animals that came to Third Earth in later ages, and they constructed the best boats and ships in the world, from a balanced mix of wood and metal that they were highly skilled at designing and fashioning. And unlike most of the races that came to Third Earth later, the Fishmen didn't have a government as such. They had no police, judges, rulers, or politicians, and they had little time for people who tried to push such concepts in their fishy faces. Except for their use of money, they just lived life in a sort of "bushmen" style, using their resources to survive, and taking personal pride in their talents as natural fishermen.

As with the Birds and the Dogs, the Fishmen came in many different sub-races. Many of the laypeople included small Fish like Carps, Loaches, Goldfish, Minnows, Suckers, Catfish, Tuna, and Pilchards. Their larger cousins included such Flounders as Flukes, Soles, Salmon, and Halibuts. These Fish races were among the most common, also including creatures like the Sturgeons, the Trout, the Bass, the Paddlefish, the Darters, the Sea Horses, the Pikes, and the Angelfish. It wasn't unheard of for fresh-water fish and salt-water fish to live together in the same colony, but they usually lived separately, because of their different physical needs. Some of the Fishmen were even numbered among the unusual and the weird. The Lamprey and the Hagfish were jawless Fishmen that couldn't speak like most other sentient beings, but communicated through sign language that most bony fish understood. Fiercer Fishmen like the Fighting Fish and the Barracuda were the terror of the Fishmen colonies, and not everyone trusted them, which really hurt some of the nicer Barracudas and Fighting Fishes, meaning that there was some racial discrimination among the Fishmen. Of course, there were also Rays and Sharks, but they were a separate race from the Fishmen, known as the Tigersharks, so they do not come into the Fishmen history or culture, though the two races did cooperate on occasions.

Like the Elephants and the Dogs, the Fishmen didn't usually stand out like heroes or villains during the bulk of their history, but some of them still made a name for themselves, nonetheless. A famous fisherman named Trouter made a sport out of catching fish for a living, and prided himself on being a sportsman. He was a controversial figure, for some Fishmen liked his style as a man who always knew and always got his catch, while others believed he was more of a bully than a sportsman, and wondered if he might have been a big coward on the inside. But this was never learned for certain, as Trouter was taken out of his boat by a very big fish that dragged him underwater and was believed to have eaten him. A Halibut named Eric, who wasn't quite as flat as the average Halibut, owned a large, public aquarium, and kept many fish in it for display and entertainment. He also allowed some of the Fishmen to swim in the water and have fun with the fish, as long as they didn't try to hurt, kill, or eat any of the fish. He even had his own pet halibut (also named Eric) in a private aquarium, which, like him, wasn't overly flat. A group of female Sturgeons made a living as synchronized swimmers, and their leader was Ms. Sturnga. Their shows were popular in many Fishmen communities, and they were renowned on Third Earth for many a year, though some other species of Fishmen did the same almost as well.

A Lamprey known as Douder was so good at sign language that he was largely responsible for the creation of a similar sign language for the hearing impaired Fishmen, making him an honorary Fishman doctor. Young sea horses like Chowder and his pal, Pearl, were popular because they made up a lot of the games salt-water Fishmen played as children, both in and out of the water. And unlikely friendships formed between Fishmen, too. At one seaside community, a native Barracuda and a visiting Angelfish earned each other's respect by showing each other that they were both good at fishing. Some other friendships like this formed, too, from time to time. And of course, there were Fishmen who were not so good. A mischievous Goldfish nicknamed "Goldie" messed around in one of the tackle shops and brought down the roof on the owner. He was grounded, not only because of what he did, but he was supposed to be with his father in one of the fishing boats, and not in the shop, unsupervised.

So far as ancient history tells, it is unknown if the Fishmen race were ever enslaved by Mumm-Ra, or any other evil entity, because they were not in Mumm-Ra's Black Pyramid with the other Animal races that were kept as slaves. When the Animals freed themselves, however, and came to Third Earth, the Fishmen felt like their privacy was being invaded, and decided to keep to themselves for the most part, rather than risk one or more of the races attempting the conquest of the Fishmen people.

For many years, this plan worked out, but ultimately, the Fishmen would be drawn into greater affairs, anyway, whether they liked it or not. The Fishmen feared a terrible Third Earth creature called the Ramlak, which, one day, came to an oasis where one such Fish colony existed, and drank up all the water there, making it bone dry and the land desolate. A revolutionary Fishman named Koinelius Tunar was so angered by this attack that he recruited a crew of his fellow Fishmen and swore revenge on the creature. He didn't treat his crew very well, however, seeing them as cowards in contrast with him. But then, when the ThunderCats were accidentally captured by his crew one day, the Ramlak attacked again, and Lion-O fought courageously to help destroy it. This impressed Tunar, who still looked down on his poor crew, and they managed to finally kill the beast, but in the process, Tunar fell overboard with his lethal harpoon and was seemingly killed. The Fishmen got their oasis back when the Ramlak spewed out the water it had consumed, and they told Lion-O not to feel sorry for Koinelius Tunar, as his fixation on revenge had been his downfall. This taught Lion-O not to be so eager for revenge on Mumm-Ra for the murder of his father Claudus.

The Fishmen thanked Lion-O for his help and stayed in their new home, though some of them promised to help him in his quest if he ever needed it. And some days later, when the ThunderCats and the Birdmen needed help fighting Mumm-Ra's forces on Avista, a bunch of the Fishmen went along to help them win the battle. It was a complete success.

It turned out that just because the Fishmen weren't caught up in the early history of Mumm-Ra's enslavement of the Animal races, didn't mean that they couldn't get involved with the later history of Mumm-Ra and the Third Earth colonists. Though they still didn't like getting involved in a war that wasn't theirs, the Fishmen were loyal to Lord Lion-O now, or at least that particular colony was, and they were bound to help him in any way possible.


End file.
